fortepiano

: loud then immediately soft. used as a direction in music.

Definitions of pianoforte. a keyboard instrument that is played by depressing keys that cause hammers to strike tuned strings and produce sounds. synonyms: forte-piano, piano.

The name fortepiano derives from the Italian words forte (strong or loud) and piano (soft or level), an indication of the range of sound that could be provided. The terms fortepiano and pianoforte were used interchangeably in the 18th century, although in time the shortened name piano became common.

The modern hammer is covered in felt, creating a softer, almost imperceptible strike on the string. The result is a broad, fat sound, much like a large handbell. The fortepiano hammer is covered in thin leather, causing a perceptible strike, more like a xylophone. This also plays into sound decay.

How to use fortepiano in a sentence. A person here has invented the prettiest improvement in the forte-piano I have ever seen. His instrument was called forte-piano or pianoforte, because it would strike loud or soft. And what think you of this new instrument - the forte-piano - father?

In each case, the first dynamic is played, then the second dynamic is played immediately afterward. So, for the fortepiano, we would have loud, then immediately quiet. If you had pianoforte, it would be the opposite with first quiet, then immediately loud.

f. forte (loud) ff. fortissimo (very loud)

Forte is a musical term that means 'loud'. Forming part of a piece's dynamic range, forte is usually abbreviated to a lowercase letter 'f' on a musical score and placed below the stave (or staff) it applies to.

The fortepiano has leather-covered hammers and thin, harpsichord-like strings. It has a much lighter case construction than the modern piano and, except for later examples of the early nineteenth century (already evolving towards the modern piano), it has no metal frame or bracing.

The sforzando accent means that a note should be played very suddenly and with force. The fortepiano accent means that the first note should be played loudly, then the following note softly.

Fortepiano keyboards were usually shorter than our standard 88-key pianos today; most were only 5 or 6 octaves (66 to 80 keys). The keys themselves on the early fortepiano, compared to our modern piano, were shorter as well as slightly narrower so that large intervals were easily reached.

What we / I play is a piano - an abbreviation for pianoforte. In the early days of development the “piano” was a “fortepiano” made with harpsichord like strings and letter covered hammers and typically of 4 octaves range and used stops or knee levers in stead of pedals.